About the Project

How do we identify the roots of gender-based violence? While answering this question, we often overlook the fact that there is no single cause for this violence – it goes back to never-ending biases, stigma, and false expectations and beliefs that are used to solidify and perpetuate existing social hierarchies. 

Safe Steps aims to give women from underprivileged communities in the state of Karnataka better access to training, information, and educational materials on safety and self-defense. Our goal is to provide women with self-defense lessons to increase their physical safety and self-assurance while navigating public (and domestic) spaces. With the hope of supporting women whose everyday experiences are otherwise silenced, this project seeks to help them understand both their external and internal worlds – the latter by improving access to subsidized therapy and treatment for survivors of domestic violence in collaboration with trauma-informed mental health practitioners. 

In order to make this easily accessible to women, Safe Steps will also compile a robust repository of pro bono medical professionals, lawyers, and women's organizations that defend women against gender-based violence. At its heart, Safe Steps aims to help women find a sense of solidarity, reassuring them with the inner resources and skills to overcome obstacles in navigating everyday situations safely.